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The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

theatlantic.com

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Re: The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

#161

Post by bokwoon »

This was a hard article to read. Why does it try so hard to draw parallels between our world and Animal Crossing? It's just a Nintendo game. Tom Nook's not some "capitalist oligarch", he charges exorbitant prices so that the player can enjoy the process and slowly make their way towards a larger goal. "Conspicuous consumption still haunts the animal village". I'd bet this was far from the mind of the creator when he designed this game.

This is like those literature memes where the teacher conjures up a fantastic narrative trying to guess what the author meant when he really just meant that "the door is red".

Re: The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

#162

Post by olivierestsage »

bokwoon wrote: post #161

This was a hard article to read. Why does it try so hard to draw parallels between our world and Animal Crossing? It's just a Nintendo game. Tom Nook's not some "capitalist oligarch", he charges exorbitant prices so that the player can enjoy the process and slowly make their way towards a larger goal. "Conspicuous consumption still haunts the animal village". I'd bet this was far from the mind of the creator when he…

Although I do see your point, and I agree when it comes to Animal Crossing, I disagree with the broader concept that only an author's explicit intent matters when trying to understand a message. The two questions "what does that statement mean?" and "what did the author of that statement actually wish to convey?" sometimes coincide, but just as often do not.

Re: The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

#163

Post by cblum »

goda90 wrote: post #151
cblum wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Factorio made me super stressed out when I was playing it. One of the reasons I quit.

Was it the biters, or just the general gameplay loop? There is a peaceful mode that has no biters.

Mostly the biters, but also I got to a point where I was getting frustrated with the spaghetti I was creating.

Re: The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

#164

Post by trowawee »

madeofpalk wrote: post #138
kosievdmerwe wrote: post #64

OK I skimmed through the article and I can't say I much care for it. To me Animal Crossing is a game that you play over many months to sometimes relax doing something mindless or over the longer term to have an island and house that you slowly build up in your own way. With that in mind there are a lot of great things in animal crossing. A lot of the furniture has interesting interactions and the museum is just a bea…

> the museum is just a beautiful thing to walk through. I find it really difficulty to explain just how much I am impressed with the Museum. It's so meticulously designed, and so calming. The level of detail that went into it so so impressive - each bug, fish, or fossil has their place and path. Little cute nooks and places to take pics in. It's really cool.

I actually turned the game on and parked my avatar in front of the anchovy tank for most of the morning every day this week while I worked from the couch. It's incredibly soothing.

Re: The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

#165

Post by danbolt »

slightwinder wrote: post #114
danbolt wrote: post #48

I've seen a lot of comments or responses from people saying that Animal Crossing's mechanics are unfulfilling or "pointless", but I think they're missing the spirit of what makes them enjoyable to a lot of people. I'm going to posit that a video game is the three following things, but you're welcome to disagree: 1) a player performs some sort of input into a game 2) the game responds with some sort of audiovisual phe…

> I'm going to posit that a video game is the three following things In other words: Action from the player delivers result from the game, giving the player a sense of satisfaction. And that's the point. There is a direct correlation between action and satisfaction. The more challenging and complex your action is, the higher can be the satisfaction when you finally get a good result. And that's why people see Animal…

I don't think action that delivers satisfying results is defining a video game. I think it's a relationship formed from inputs and audiovisual responses, like I mentioned. Paratropic isn't really a game about satisfaction and results, as the designers want you to be frustrated and anxious.

I think some people see Animal Crossing as pointless because they don't find much value in expressing themselves through the game. I think Minecraft is a similar example of this, as some people mostly focus on fighting monsters or getting gear, as compared to building a house they like the look of.

Re: The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

#166

Post by danbolt »

Smaug123 wrote: post #96
danbolt wrote: post #48

I've seen a lot of comments or responses from people saying that Animal Crossing's mechanics are unfulfilling or "pointless", but I think they're missing the spirit of what makes them enjoyable to a lot of people. I'm going to posit that a video game is the three following things, but you're welcome to disagree: 1) a player performs some sort of input into a game 2) the game responds with some sort of audiovisual phe…

Mark Rosewater, a designer of Magic: the Gathering, wrote a very interesting piece on what a "game" is: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/w... He says a useful model is that if the game has no goal, it's better termed a "toy" (like Lego); if it doesn't give you "agency", it's an "event" (like watching a film); if it doesn't have mechanics that restrict what's possible, it's an "activity" (lik…

I like the structure of Mark's definitions, but I think it wouldn't define products like Neko Atsume, The Beginner's Guide, or Minecraft as video games. I think we generally consider the aforementioned to be video games, so it doesn't make much sense to 100% claim that a video game needs structure or goals. We can start calling them "interactive experiences" or something, sure, but if not I think we should accept that video games are a wide variety of things in our world, and appreciate the variety.

Or maybe to be more short, I think it might be good to be a bit less prescriptive of what qualifies as a video game, as we otherwise will blind ourselves to why people enjoy them as entertainment, competition, or self-expression.

Re: The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

#167

Post by danbolt »

ccktlmazeltov wrote: post #86
danbolt wrote: post #48

I've seen a lot of comments or responses from people saying that Animal Crossing's mechanics are unfulfilling or "pointless", but I think they're missing the spirit of what makes them enjoyable to a lot of people. I'm going to posit that a video game is the three following things, but you're welcome to disagree: 1) a player performs some sort of input into a game 2) the game responds with some sort of audiovisual phe…

urr... that sounds like a very simple reduction from someone who does not play video games. There are MANY types of games and they provide different types of pleasure. For example multiplayer games usually bring pleasure through cooperation, socializing, and becoming better. sandbox games like minecraft can provide pleasure through creation. other video games like the last of us are just deeply emotional and touching…

Exactly. There's a pretty wide spead of phenomena we like about video games. I think that's why I suggest a relationship via interaction as a cover-all.

Re: The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

#168

Post by aspenmayer »

wincy wrote: post #75
aspenmayer wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Virtual On! I forgot I remembered that until you reminded me, which then brought to mind Zone of the Enders and Front Mission. There was one other one which eludes me. Oh yeah, Armored Core. I know there are many others but these were most memorable to me. I think of all of those I love Front Mission series best. It’s kind of an oddball since the others are action games but FM is tactical RPG closer to X-COM series.…

Mechwarrior 5 just came out a few months ago.

Is it still more of a simulation like past MechWarrior games, or is it more of an action game like MechAssault? The simulator MechWarrior games were amazing for immersion, but I found the controls confusing. I think for the concept of the game, those are not problems with the game so much as my own individual problems with comfort of the game's user-input. I feel like if a MechWarrior game could be playable with a controller, it would still be fun, but something essential to the gameplay experience would be lost.

Re: The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

#169

Post by limomium »

danbolt wrote: post #48

I've seen a lot of comments or responses from people saying that Animal Crossing's mechanics are unfulfilling or "pointless", but I think they're missing the spirit of what makes them enjoyable to a lot of people. I'm going to posit that a video game is the three following things, but you're welcome to disagree: 1) a player performs some sort of input into a game 2) the game responds with some sort of audiovisual phe…

Actually your simple reduction doesn't hold, which is the very reason I stopped playing Animal Crossing: If you perform NO input, the game STILL responds. i.e. If you don't play, the game still simulates its world. Weeds grow, town inhabitants move out, etc.

It's basically an addiction-based dark pattern. The game punishes you for not playing. I play games on MY TIME, and I won't make myself slave to one.

Re: The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

#170

Post by lonelappde »

MattRix wrote: post #158
Smaug123 wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mark Rosewater, a designer of Magic: the Gathering, wrote a very interesting piece on what a "game" is: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/w... He says a useful model is that if the game has no goal, it's better termed a "toy" (like Lego); if it doesn't give you "agency", it's an "event" (like watching a film); if it doesn't have mechanics that restrict what's possible, it's an "activity" (lik…

This debate has happened in the video game world many years ago (and I'm sure is still ongoing in some circles), but most people arrived at a very simple but counterintuitive solution: A "video game" is not the same as a game. You can have definitions of games, toys, events, etc, but "video game" encompasses all of them. Once it's digital and has some kind of interactivity, the only thing that matters is whether the…

Is Excel a video game? If I have fun with a program, is it a game even if the author didn't intend it?
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